Admittedly, we pretty much do the same thing every year on our annual trip to Mackinac Island. I especially am a creature of habit so I like to stick with what I am familiar with and what works! Most years we stick to our traditions of playing in the green space in front of the fort, renting bikes and riding around the island, dining at the Gate House near the Grand Hotel, and stopping for fudge and ice cream from Joann’s on main street before catching our Shepler’s Ferry back to the mainland. Soooo, some of those elements remained this year, but we did decide to change it up a little this year for several reasons. One of which being that I am currently six months pregnant and was not sure how the 8 plus mile bike ride around the island would work out. It was fun to spend time in some new areas and do some exploring!
One of the elements of our trip that remained the same was our dedication to the Shepler’s Ferry. There are several other lines in town that make frequent runs to the island, but Shepler’s offers the best schedule for arrivals and departures so it has remained our go to option. We were also able to grab a discounted bundle of our ferry ticket combined with admission to Fort Michillimackinac at the ferry office so that was awesomely convenient. With our purchase we were also given coupons for bike rentals and admission to the butterfly house. Because we happened to have beautiful weather this year, some of our party elected to sit on the top deck of the ferry and enjoy some unobstructed views of both the island and the bridge. While some areas of the top deck are subject to splashing from waves, as long as it’s a nice day, the biggest risk you take up there is wind blown hair 😉 I sat in the lower cabin with Torsten and enjoyed a window seat and lots of spray on the windows. *Pro tip, when riding to the island grab a seat on the port side (when standing at the back, facing front it will be the left side) for great views of the Mackinac Bridge!*
Recently, my kids have gotten really into historical places and reenactments so I was advocating a trip to the fort for a while. Really though, there are several good reasons to visit Fort Michilimackinac; it has what are probably the best views of the whole island, the historical site and rellics, and the Tea Room which is a small cafe on the terrace of the fort that shares the same amazing views as the best spots in the fort. In addition to being able to tour the grounds, see informational videos, see stagings of what the fort would have looked like in it’s day, they also offer rifle and canon demonstrations. You can even choose to have a guided tour given by people in true period uniforms. Probably the best thing about it is the flexibility it allows in how far you would like to dive into the history of it. There is tons of great information and detail, but if you’re not much of a history buff there are certainly other aspects for you to enjoy.
If you make a trip to Mackinac Island, I highly recommend spending some time at the fort. And if you make a trip to the fort, I highly recommend at least grabbing a glass of wine (or in my case lemonade) and taking in the beautiful views. Our family decided to take advantage of the situation and all enjoyed a meal in the Tea Room. It is operated by the Grand Hotel so while the food variety is not expansive, the offerings they do have are good. Erik and I enjoyed the flat bread pizza and Annabelle insisted that the kids mini burgers were some of the best she’s ever had. Sorry, I have no documentation of said burgers. You’ll just have to take my word for it!
After our time at the fort (which wound up being most of the day – there is so much to see and do there!) we used the walking paths on the interior of the island to walk the short distance to Arch Rock. While we have all visited Arch Rock during a carriage tour before, we had never spent much time there and without the constraints of the tour, we were able to take our time and enjoy the lull’s between the crowds. It is an incredible sight to see and the best spot for viewing it is the middle landing of stairs. The top walk way gets you closest and when taken out to the end gives you beautiful views of the great lakes and Upper Peninsula. There is a second set of stairs to the right of the Arch that takes you to a scenic outlook. Mostly the scenery includes the tree tops of the trees directly in front of you. Arch Rock though is one of the most iconic spots on Mackinac Island and truly worth a stop. You can reach it through carriage tour, interior walking paths/roads, or the most difficult route, the 217 stair climb from the road that runs around the perimeter of the island. We walked down those stairs and even that was a challenge so choose your route carefully!
After our tedious decent, we walked the outer roadway back into town. If you need a pitstop on your trek, I recommend checking out the lawn in front of Mission Point resort on the east side of the island. There are adirondack chairs-a-plenty. If you need a cool (or warm beverage) to enjoy your set, there is a cafe in the resort that is open *with nice clean restrooms*. We have stopped in there several times for chai tea lattes or just hot tea. It’s a less popular but definitely worth it pit stop on the island!
Once we arrived back in town, we did a little shopping at the girls new favorite spot on the island and then headed to our standard Joann’s Fudge where we all pick up goodies of fudge and ice cream cones. All the locals agree (and I’m pretty sure TripAdviser too) that it’s the best place and so we have never wanted to even try anywhere else. I always get a waffle cone of Mackinac Island Fudge ice cream – it’s a tradition that my dad treats the kiddos and grand-kiddos to said treat every year. It’s kind of our thing. Ice cream and fudge in tow we walk down to the ferry dock to catch the second to last ferry departing from Mackinac Island and usually at least one of the kids nods off in the bobbing waves on the ride back.
There never seems to be a shortage of charming and family friendly activities to do and places to go on Mackinac Island. I love looking back over the years and seeing photos of all the awesome things we have done on our annual family trip! Looking forward to sharing more with you as we continue to explore. Have you been to Mackinac?! What is your favorite family activity?
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